Class: EDUC 209 Curriculum Theory
Date: Nov. 7, 2018
Introduction
There are many components that create a successful classroom. In order to do so it is important to learn about the history, cultural background and mindset of the students. Within education, those ideologies have, at times, become tainted with political agendas and lack of understanding the culture of students. As we dive deeper into the elements that create a successful classroom, we must note that we need to be cognizant of historical backgrounds to generate a philosophy specific for them, tap into their realities and gain a better understanding of how to be a culturally responsive educator.
History and Philosophy
Throughout history, education has usually been one sided, structured for one group of people or type of intellect, and is not always cross-cultural. This is shown through curriculum and philosophy having a lack of diversity, and not always gaining the interest of all students. This can be shown in William C. Bagley’s battle between Progressivism and Essentialism mindsets in education. He compares the two through “effort vs. interest; discipline vs. freedom; race experience vs. individual experience” (1941, p.23). The article expresses his concern and impartiality to the progressive mindset, where as Harvey Kantor and Robert Lowe see the importance of knowing our past to change our present. In all it can be difficult to figure out which side of the spectrum to be on when the purpose for your classroom has not been established and there is a weak classroom philosophy.
As an educator it is important to be cognizant and balanced. We must learn from our past in order to be affective in the future. Educators need to be the catalyst in students’ lives towards their purpose; giving them an opportunity to have an input on their education. We need to realize that not every student is the same and everyone learns information differently. For me personally, having an instructor who bases curriculum off of students’ needs, have been my most successful classes in not necessarily the grade I achieved but in the knowledge I retained in the class.
My three inquiry-based questions from this section are:
1. How would philosophy be integrated into curriculum in a rural education setting? (Ornstein)
2. How do educators confront inequalities within the school system? (Kantor/Lowe)
3. In what ways are institutions able to ensure success while maintaining the learner's interest? (Bagley)
In Ornstein’s Philosophy as a Basis for Curriculum Decision, he describes that, “philosophy provides educators with a framework for organizing schools and classrooms” (2003, p. 3). A rural classroom will have different stresses, worries, and goals than that of a classroom in a high-class area. Within that setting, the educator can find elements of their everyday life and integrate that within their curriculum. In a rural school system’s philosophy it could be to show and encourage students on how to navigate life as a person of color in society. As apart of the curriculum for that class, I would incorporate dissecting Maya Angelou’s poem And Still I Rise, which Zaretta Hammond mentions as a way to create an ally relationship with the students as the poem delivers a message of hope and freedom. (2015, p.92).
Confronting inequalities such as certain races receiving a better quality education can be a challenge yet it is important in developing a cohesive classroom where all students not only feel welcomed but they are receiving a good quality education. Kantor & Lowe explain that, “we cannot create truly excellent schools without confronting the inequities that have long been deeply imbedded in them…” (2004, p. 9). The article described how many people believe that education was better in the early 1900’s. The problem with that mentality is that we neglect that fact that minorities were not afforded those educational opportunities. We need to find a way to address how the past affects the present and how a quality education was not always accessible for certain groups of people. Instead of comparing education then to now, we need to reflect of the historical inequalities of various cultural groups in our society to help cultivate a more quality education.
In Bagley’s article, he strongly suggests that essentialism is the best way of education and that America is making a mistake with its progressive way of thinking. He believes that interest should be grown out of effort, and if not effort, then “discipline and duty” (1941, p.24). On the other hand, progressives believe that having an interest in something or realizing its purpose generates interest. In education, we wan to ensure students grasp information that can be applied to their life outside of school. Having an interest in something can generate more effort being applied to learning the information. We are living in a different generation where there are a variety of jobs and careers along with the degrees to match them. Many of us have the freedom to choose our career path, and not only do it out of duty. We need to be logical and use wisdom because of the various responsibilities we have, however, it does not mean that finding our interest eliminates discipline or duty. Many times, people are more motivated to be disciplined because of their effort towards an interest. Though it is a student’s duty to attend school and abide by the teacher’s instructions and discipline, the teacher can fuel a student’s interest on how they guide the student and how they deliver the required content.
Personal Impact
As an educator it is my duty to develop a curriculum that best reflects the needs and the demographic of my students. I will find ways to create a high quality of education with the tools I am given and fight for better education to be available for more students. Lastly, I will make sure I am balanced within being an essentialist and a progressive. I will guide my students and hold them to a standard while giving them the freedom to express themselves and tap into their passions and interests to help fuel their effort within school and life.
In order to create an environment that fosters success, I want to ensure my classroom philosophy is that of inclusion, openness and determination. I would want my curriculum to reflect the issues and needs of their immediate community. As a senior in high school, my economics teacher gave us the option to choose a company’s that we were familiar with and watch their stock over the course of 8 weeks. This allowed students to get involved with what they are interested in (the company of choice) and learn about how their favorite company is affected by the economy (stock market value). As an educator, I would do a similar activity where my students will have to report on a current event pertaining to the curriculum.
Quality education can be difficult to find depending on the environment you are in and racial inequities that have plagued our country. At times, students will go to another school in the area that has a higher quality of education. An alternate option would be for their school to offer more advanced classes or college readiness classes so they are receiving the best quality education. I would hope to be an educator who is willing to teach the advanced or honors courses, especially as a woman of color, to promote a quality education for minorities who have not always had the same opportunities as their white counterparts. In my high school education, I had the opportunity to enroll in Advance Placement English and social science classes along with taking an honors Spanish class. Making sure I receive the qualifications I need in order to teach advanced course can give students more opportunities to take them.
Education needs to constantly balance progressivism and essentialism. My goal for my students is for the to know that they have a choice in this world of pursuing a career they are passionate about. In the same manner, it is my job to instill realistic expectations of them needing to take care of themselves and their future family. A way to execute those ideals would be for them to create a budget on the type off of the career and lifestyle they want to attain as an adult. This is not to diminish their dreams or goals but it is for them to see what it will take to achieve them and what they will have to do in the meantime until they are able to fully live out their dreams. This balances “effort vs. interest; discipline vs. freedom” (1941, p. 23) mentalities that Bagley discussed. They are both needed to have a fulfilling and meaningful life which.
The continuous progression of education requires understanding the past, having a philosophy, and having a balanced mindset. As I continue developing my education skills, I aspire to nurture the dreams of my students by providing them with a quality education that some of their ancestors may not have had the privilege to attain. Assuring my classroom philosophy is balanced with an essentialist and progressive mindset can help propel my students for their life journeys.
Ideals, Realities, and American Education
Education has many folds and facets that can be ideal to one area or group of people and not ideal to another. In generating a successful classroom we need to discover ways to influence students of color and ensuring all students can apply knowledge learned in the classroom to their life. Schubert explains how it is important to not neglect the textbooks and other materials given but to also capture the essence of various ideologies and realities. In order to assist with that process, observing how other countries school systems operate, we can learn from their successes and apply those techniques into American school systems. This is seen in how Gabbard & Atkinson dissect the broadcast “Stupid in America: How Lack of Choices Cheats Our Kids Out of a Good Education”, which displayed a negative bias towards the American public education system. As an educator these three elements show that we are taking time to ensure students are becoming positive members of society and truly seeing that their education expands past the classroom.
Throughout school, I never had a teacher or professor who was black. Though I did well in school, I do know that having a teacher that looks like me would have created a greater positive impact in my educational career. After graduating from college, I became a high school teacher. I did not realize the impact I had until one of my 9th grade students said, “Ms. Harper, you are my first black teacher!” At that moment I realized that this is greater than me. Not only that, I had the ability to empathize with them when racial injustices occurred and they felt unsafe. I was able to build a safe and trusting environment where I had the voice to motivate, encourage my students, and “prevent and break cycles of racism in [the] classroom.” (Kohli, 2008, p. 177)
The inquiry-based questions include:
1. In what ways do teachers of color create an impact in the school system? (Kohli)
2. In what ways does education ensure students grasp information that can be applied to life? (Schubert)
3. In what ways does the American school system differ from school systems in other countries? (Gabbard & Atkinson)
As I mentioned in my own experience, teachers of color create a greater impact on students than we realize. Kohli describes her earliest childhood experience of a teacher informing her mother not to speak Hindi in the house and only teaching her children English so they didn’t feel left out at school. (2008, p.179) If the teacher was not white, or they understood the importance of maintaining cultural heritage as new immigrants into a foreign land, then Kohli would have been able to maintain her Indian and American heritages. The teacher did not take the time to understand the students’ demographics or culture and she viewed it as a roadblock in her instruction time instead of a bridge to merge both cultures together within the classroom. The teacher neglected their reality to make her reality more comfortable. It is my job to be that vessel that makes students and parents comfortable. It is not our job to dictate if a family should or should not speak their native language at home. Our job is to ensure they feel welcomed and cared for.
Grasping information for the long term, and not just for a test, can be a difficult task for teacher to instruct students on how to do. As a student, we usually just memorize the material for a test and once it is over, the information is no longer relevant to us and we dispose of it in our brain. Bridging that gap between book knowledge and applying that to life for long-term information retention is important for educators to do. Schubert believes “we learn best when learning springs from our genuine interest and concerns” (1996, p.17). In education, not every topic will be interesting or relatable to us however, we must find some way to integrate both components of life and education. My freshman year in high school, my teacher found an enticing way for us to get excited about the poetry unit. She allowed us to choose a song of our choice and break down the meaning of the song. In doing so we had to answer a few questions: What was the writer trying to convey? Why did they use those words to describe his/her feelings? What colors did they use? Why did they choose a ballad over an upbeat tempo? Having that as the introduction to a more challenging topic, poetry, truly sparked my interest for literature. I even went on to take AP American Literature my senior year. She allowed us to bridge the gap between poetry and music that we listen to every day to better understand the process in analyzing poetry.
“U.S. students are stupid [and] also public schools are responsible for this reality” (Gabbard & Atkinson, 2007, p.87). In the documentary, it is noted that the U.S. public school system has wasted millions of dollars on amenities that are unnecessary to the students’ needs and development. The documentary is in favor of schools systems in Europe as well as American private and charter institutions that get the job done with a fraction of the cost on the government. Gabbard and Atkinson believe the “attack on public schools represents a small part of a much larger attack on the public…” (2007, p.105). I believe both sides to the argument are true. At times in the American school system, money is wasted on the aesthetics to appease a political agenda rather than developing students and building relationships. However, the benefits of the public education system is its accessibility and available to majority of students. As someone who grew up in the American public school system, it is possible to receive a quality and rigorous education. In the same breath, the system can focus on passing students to the next grade by making sure they are ready for the state testing rather than helping them learn and apply the curriculum.
Personal Impact
Creating an impact for students can help them succeed in the long run. When students feel welcomed and that their voice is heard, they will want to try and are more motivated to do well within a classroom. As an educator I will ensure my classroom is a safe space for students, find ways for them to apply classroom knowledge to their life, and find ways to help improve the quality of public education.
My students and their families can ensure when they step foot into my classroom they feel welcomed. I want to construct an environment where we can learn about students’ cultures and not discourage them from celebrating their life and heritage. A way I currently do this is taking time to correctly pronounce a student’s name and not “giving them an Anglicized name that is easier for me” (Hammond, 2015, p. 113). Even if it takes me 4 tries to correctly pronounce a student’s name, I want them to know that I care about who they are. In doing so I lessen my chances of committing, what Hammond calls, a microinsult, (2015, p.113) which can create hostility and mistrust between the student and I.
I will find ways to connect the school world to the outside world for students to retain knowledge and understanding. When they see that these concepts can stretch far beyond the four walls of the classroom, they become more intrigued to learn and want to see other areas they can apply this knowledge to. As a teacher, I did the same song dissection with my students as my 9th grade English teacher did with my class. My students were in rural Vallejo where many of them had gotten expelled from their school, apart of gangs, and had gone to jail. Finding a way to connect with them became a challenge. When I tapped into their creative skills through their own music, they became interested in school and wanted to do the activity again. They saw that school was greater than what had been presented to them in the past and that school did not have to be boring.
Lastly, there is value in the public education system. We need to fight against the root causes of the failed elements of the system, not the system as a whole. By focusing solely on public education, “the attack on public schools represents a small part of a much larger attack on the public” (Gabbard & Atkinson, 2007, p.105). We can tear down the community instead of uplifting one another. For instance, instead of comparing the school systems between America and Belgium, I, as an educator, would learn what is making “Belgium 30% more successful” (2007, p. 87) and implement some of those practices within my classroom. I want to make sure I am not teaching to test but teaching to apply the knowledge to their life out of school.
Taking these steps, I hope to ensure a safe and successful classroom. Celebrating students’ cultures and heritages allows them to feel included in a world that can exclude them at times. Connecting their world, whether their culture or popular American culture, into the classroom can help foster a positive relationship for my students with their education.
Being a Culturally Responsive Educator
Being a culturally responsive teacher is more than just knowing about where someone comes from and their culture. It starts from inside of you. In her book Culturally Responsive Teaching & The Brain, Zaretta Hammond explains that one must be “comfortable in [their] own cultural skin” (Hammond, 2015, p. 53), remove their bias, and able to reflect by being mindful and present. Within this it is important to understand the differences between the three levels of culture: surface, shallow, and deep. Surface level deals with the observable elements of a culture (holidays, food, music, and dress) and has a low emotional charge (2015, p. 22). Shallow culture consists of nonverbal communication such as customs and courtesies, respecting elders, nature of friendships, personal space, and other social norms. Lastly, deep culture is associated with “how we learn new information” based from our own experiences and upbringings (2015, p. 23). This does create an intense emotional charge and, if not properly handled, can create anxiety, confusion, and mistrust. As Hammond’s grandmother stated, “You can take the boy out of the country but you can't take the country out of the boy”. Within statements are these, it is saying that no matter where we go or what we do in life, how we were raised and the environment that cultivated us, is what we carry within us the rest of our lives. It is what we use to make decisions on and how we operate within our communities. This is apart of our schema. The schema is “information we've taken in, interpreted, and categorized, based on our deep cultural norms, beliefs, and ways of being” (2015, p. 23).
As an educator it is extremely important to understand these elements of culture to be an affective culturally responsive practitioner. We are the ones who have the frontline interaction with students in creating an environment that is inviting, safe, and culturally sensitive. We cannot assume a student understands or comprehends the information given because we all have a different schema. We need to learn about our students’ upbringings and see how to best communicate with them to ensure they feel safe and that they can trust you.
It is important for me, as a woman of color, to feel I am in a safe environment. At times it can be difficult to fit in or feel comfortable being yourself, especially when the instructor unknowingly creates division in the classroom. Being aware of this, my goal for my classroom is to create a welcoming, safe, and trust worthy environment so students can have the drive to succeed.
The three inquiry-based questions I created from Zaretta Hammond are:
1. How do you widen you cultural aperture?
2. How does an educator integrate multiple cultures in one classroom?
3. In what ways does structural racialization create disharmony within the classroom?
Cultural aperture is how we interpret other’s actions through our personal cultural frames. According to Hammond, this can lead to misinterpreting the person’s actions or intentions. In order to be a culturally responsive educator, one must begin to look at the world through other’s eyes. “We have to develop a process that allows us to expand our ability to recognize the different way things are done in other cultures” (2015, p. 59). We cannot automatically assume that a student understands what we are asking of them or what we are implying for them to do. We need to be clear with our directions and expectations and also ask questions when it seems as though they are not following our expectations.
There was a section in chapter 2 titled “But I have 19 different cultures in my classroom!” (Hammond, 2015, p. 24). At times we assume that being culturally responsive equates to making sure everyone’s culture is represented in some form of fashion. It is not the fruits of the culture we need to focus on but the roots of the culture (2015, pg. 25); the deep culture instead of the surface culture. Though an instructor can have flags around the room of the different countries represented in their class or recognize when there are various cultural holidays, to be effective takes digging deeper into a culture. This constitutes the cultural archetypes of collectivism and individualism. Collectivistic societies build interdependence in a community while emphasizing relationships. Individualistic societies focus on individual achievement and independence (2015, p. 25). American culture has a individualistic approach while people of color, (Black, Latinx, Native American, Pacific Islander) have a communal or collectivism approach. With that in mind, as a culturally responsive educator, it is important to make note of that and have a different expectation for your group, not a lower expectation. A question I have gotten a lot in life is “Why do all the black kids hang out with each other?” I never took offense to the question because I knew people genuinely wanted to know. I would kindly respond with, “They feel more comfortable around people with similar backgrounds as them.” We often hear the saying “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” within American culture to show that you are in charge of your own destiny. It can come off as insensitive to other groups of people within this country who have been institutionally demoralized, enslaved, and oppressed. Being culturally responsive means to recognize these truths and approach these various groups of students with more of a collectivism mindset that shows they can achieve greatness when they work together.
Structural racialization is when multiple factors in a society “create and perpetuate social, economic, and political structures that are harmful to people of color and our society as a whole” (2015, p. 29). In simpler terms, it is when people try to do things to help the society but in turn actually hurt society more and can cause division. Hammond gives the example of how No Child Left Behind was intended to increase test scores and decrease the test score gap between Black and White students. The end result instead created a system where test subject matter was the primary focus, which neglected the root causes for why students of color fell behind in test scores. They failed to look at the negative societal impacts that students of color face daily and teaching them become independent learners. It is greater than a surface level fix. As an educator, it is crucial to know your students’ backgrounds. As I mentioned earlier about the “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” mentality, it diminishes and/or erases the internal and social struggles one has faced by making it seem as though someone’s struggles are imaginary. Having an educator who takes the time to teach from within the student, not a surface level “fix” will have more success with their students.
Personal Impact
Becoming a culturally responsive educator takes balance, understanding, and a willingness to want your students to feel included. As I continue developing my teaching skills, I will be more intentional in creating that environment. In doing so I will listen to the needs of my students, adapt my teaching to their learning styles, and integrating my students into my curriculum.
As an educator I would ensure that I listen to the needs and concerns of my students. This is to give them a voice and show that their opinions are important and to generate trust (Hammond, 2015, p. 79). Listening to my students’ needs shows that I care for their education and that I genuinely want them to succeed. For example, one of my college professors postponed a test after he asked us if we had any other tests the same day as his. He was in tune with his students and wanted to ensure that they were not only successful in his class but other classes as well.
Another way this is shown is by taking elements of their everyday life and integrating it into the classroom. In my educational experience, I have seen this shown as teachers allow us to do projects or activities based on current events or pop culture. During my 9th grade geography course, my teacher brought in a Hawaiian blend coffee for us to taste as we followed the then Senator, Barak Obama, in the 2008 presidential election. She wanted us to learn more about him by grasping the essence of his childhood as well as the Hawaiian culture through a cup of coffee. Merging school life and real life can be demonstrated in science labs as well. Through the dissection of a fetal pig, my anatomy and physiology teacher could fully illustrate how food nourishes our body by allowing us to see the pathway of our food, where it is absorbed, and how it is excreted. It made us more aware of how food affects us and which foods we should allow into our bodies. In my classroom I will integrate these methods as much as possible to create students who want to learn and see the correlation of their education to their personal life.
Instead of primarily teaching what I want my students to learn, it is important for me to see how they learn. In a few of my undergraduate courses, my teachers administered personality tests to get to know who we are along with our learning styles. Through our results my instructors were able to generate a more inclusive classroom that catered to the needs of many students. This was demonstrated through hands on activities, group projects, and real life application to increase our rates of retaining information. Within my classroom I want to make sure I am cultivating my student’s strengths that will propel them forward without allowing their weaknesses to hinder their success. A popular Albert Einstein quote used by teachers is, “Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” By learning my student’s learning styles, I can strive to ensure my students have a fair chance at success within my class regardless of their learning style.
Becoming a culturally responsive educator is crucial in creating an environment where students feel safe, can trust me, and are willing to learn. I want to look beyond the classroom and integrate real life application and knowledge so my students make it applicable to them. I want to make sure my students are not just memorizing information to pass a test, but receiving information to take them on their life journeys.
Conclusion
Education is a multifaceted and sometimes complex system. We are in charge of the future generation and our future leaders. As educators we have a duty to help shape this generation to be independent, disciplined, and understanding. They need to learn how cultures operate and to remove their own biases to affect change within the lives of others. In being a culturally responsive practitioner, one must understand the history or a culture to develop a philosophy that can be used in the classroom. Once in the classroom, we need to tie in elements of the students’ personal lives into the curriculum to spark and keep interest. With these various elements, this can help encourage students to continue reaching beyond the borders of school and become positive influencers within their community
References:
Bagley, W. C. (1941). The case for essentialism in education. In Today’s Education:
Journal of the National Education Association, 30 (7), pp. 201-202.
Gabbard, D., & Atkinson, T. (2007). Stossel in america: A case study of the
neoliberal/neoconservative assault on public schools and teachers. Teacher Education Quarterly, 34 (1), pp. 85-109.
Hammond, Z., & Jackson, Y. (2015). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain:
Promoting authentic engagement and rigor among culturally and linguistically diverse students. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Kantor, H., & Lowe, R. (2004). Reflections on history and quality education. Educational Researcher. 33 (5), pp. 6-10.
Kohli, R. (2008). Breaking the cycle of racism in the classroom: Critical race reflections from future teachers of color. Teacher Education Quarterly, 35 (4), pp. 177-188.
Ornstein, A. C. (2003a ). Philosophy as a basis for curriculum decisions. In A. C. Ornstein, L. S. Behar-Horenstein, & E. F. Pajak (Eds.), Contemporary Issues in Curriculum (3rd. Edition). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Schubert, W. H. (1996). Perspectives on four curriculum traditions. Educational
Horizons, 74 (4), pp. 15-19.
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